Thursday November 22, 2012 #474
The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired.
~Gordon B. Hinckley
Today would have been my Dad’s 80th birthday. Rather than dwell in sadness (though I am sad I can no longer talk to him), I choose to reflect on his life – a life of constant learning and teaching. My Dad understood that to resolve the worries, despair and weariness he felt from time to time, he needed continue driving forward in his work. He saw his work, his purpose, as constantly learning about the issues and causes important to him and then teaching others what he had learned. He didn’t stop there. Whenever he could, he volunteered and otherwise helped organizations and individuals who lived for and championed his passions. In his last days, he continued to speak to me and to his friends about these passions.
My Dad passed quietly in his home on October 15, 2012. 79 years of consistently living to his principles – learning and teaching every day. I will miss my Dad, and so will the people and the organizations that benefitted from his passionate efforts. It is a life we can all learn from. Time to get to work…